Pixelmator 2.2 Is Available Today from the Mac App Store

Today the Pixelmator Team released Pixelmator 2.2, a major update of the world’s most innovative, easy-to-use, fast and powerful image editing app. Pixelmator 2.2 Blueberry features new, easy-to-use Smart Shape, Move and Paint Selection Tools, and a new Light Leak effect for creating retro-artistically illuminated images. Pixelmator 2.2 Blueberry is available today as a free update from the Mac App Store.

“We’re excited to deliver even more, easy-to-use, advanced features to our Pixelmator fans and continue to create the best and most enjoyable image editing experience,” said Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator Team. “With new state-of-the-art Smart Shape Tools, people can fully enhance their images, create logos, Web layouts, posters, and much more, all easier than ever before.”

Pixelmator 2.2 Blueberry comes with more than 100 new features and improvements, including:

Smart Shapes Tools, which let you quickly adjust a shape’s outline with easy-to-use controls to get just the look you’re after;

Shapes palette packed with dozens of readily available shapes that are as easy to add as dragging and dropping;

Shape Style palette, so you can effortlessly create more polished and advanced shapes;

Smart Move Tool, which knows when you are working with image or shape layers and gives you the options you need at that time;

Paint Selection Tool, which is the simplest and the fastest way to make the most challenging selections with a few brush strokes;

Light Leak effect, which makes it easy and fun to create stunning, retro-artistically illuminated images from any of your photos.

Additional features include the new Color Popovers for quicker access to color swatches, new gradient presets, improved drawing tools, an improved Type Tool, the ability to copy and paste shape styles, and major performance improvements.

Pixelmator 2.2 is available from the Mac App Store at a promotional price of $29.99. For existing Pixelmator customers who purchased the app from the Mac App Store, the new update is free.

Great looking update which ALMOST has me tempted to finally buy Pixelmator. But without non-destructive filters and full featured layer styles, like the new Acorn 4, I just can’t dedicate time to Pixelmator.

I am really dissapointed. Devs promised to fix the resizng bug whitch causes images to blur. This bug makes Pixelmator almost useless and they aren’t able to deliver a simple fix? New features are nice but please, make this software USEFUL again!

Very disappointing release. Built for OS X and it doesn’t show, because no, gestures still aren’t supported. No option to change UI colour, can’t drag past the window edge. The shape UI is damn annoying, pops up a shape window which I have to manually close. To resize a selection I can’t just drag the edge but have to right click and choose Refine Selection, why? Weird how you have all these great things I love, but some of the basics are still lagging behind gimp. This frustrates me so much that I actually avoid doing any image editing. It’s a sad thing that I did more image editing with gimp on linux, then now on my shiny new os x machine.

holy carp. it’s like you were reading my mind about updates. the next text tools in particular (although i have to retrain myself on when to press T & V for editing). text-as-shape is something i have needed SO badly. thanks. i raved about PM on FB before i even tried 2.2. this is amazing software. thanks.

Really nice update, congratulations for taking Pixelmator to a new level, again. Tools for making masking faster are always welcome and I like the new light leak filters! Still as others have said, you’re only getting professionals to turn away from “big brother” when you add adjustement layers. It’s the single most powerful feature in PS and I can only really start using Pixelmator when you add the feature. I’ve ofcourse bought Pixelmator already to support your developement and really look forward to your next update.

As a photographer I’d also like to see HDR tonemapper, non destructive filters, more focus on black and white fine tuning and natural film grain filters added on future updates, please? 😉

I am 100% sure Pixelmator will be the best in its class at some point, and now that Adobe is moving to subscription model you just got a lot of potential customers from the professionals.

I love this update! It fixes all of my issues with Pixelmator, except one(the issue Mikeintosh had). I also struggle with the blurry resizing. Can’t you just post the solution here for everyone to see, kind Pixelmator team?

Congartulations on this cool update. I can now make selections from a path, one of the features holding me back from ditching PS. Can’t wait for layer styles, that will be the last nail in the coffin for Adobe (for me). The warp matrix would be nice, but I rarely use it. +1 for Joonas’ comment re photographers. Thanks for this update, looking forward to the next, I guess after you’ve had a well earnt beer 🙂

Ok, first of all, I’d like to say awesome work on what you’ve done already. So much goodness to this app and your philosophy in regards to pricing, customer experience, etc. Love that.

However…I’m a bit concerned about this release. I was really hoping that “layer styles” would actually mean something similar to what we already have from that “other” company (of which I will not utter their name here). All I see so far is gradient fill, stroke, shadow and inner shadow “shape styles” that can only be applied to shapes, not layers. Is that it?? Am I missing something here? If so, I apologize in advance. I sure hope this is just setting the groundwork for actual “layer styles”, which is an integral tool for web and print design for me. I was hoping to be able to apply layer styles to ANY layer with the same controls as the “other” company’s flagship product. Primarily, drop shadow, inner shadow, outer glow, inner glow, bevel and emboss, satin, color overlay, gradient overlay, pattern overlay and stroke. These are essential to any modern graphic designer to produce professional results quickly and efficiently. Although the same can be achieved without these, it’s a really slow inefficient workflow and not really practical.

As a user of the other company’s products since 1996, I’ve recently fell our of love with them because of their overpricing, twisted mentality and philosophy. I will not rent their software, either. I am the first one to applaud you guys for taking on “big brother” and hope to see the day when you beat them into submission and make them apologize for making their loyal user base suffer, haha. Keep up the great work and please add real layer styles in the next release [please, please, please]. I’d love to be able to introduce Pixelmator into my daily workflow.

Layer Styles is partially implemented now, it’s off to a good start. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

The only thing that bothers me at this point is the interface. There’s too many windows floating around, something needs to be done about it.
Plus, the black interface still hasn’t been fixed. I can’t stay in Pixelmator for a long time.

To play with each letter individually, you should select the letter and press the Command-Shift-D shortcut to place it on a separate layer. This step is skipped in the video However, at the end you can see that each letter is on a separate layer.

Fantastic update, demo’d the trial for a few days and hit buy. It might not be a full Photoshop replacement, but damn if it isn’t close.
However, when you have fully embraced the spirit of OS X, why not embrace the mac hardware too? You’ve got iSight integration damn-it, but no multi-touch gestures (pinch-to-zoom, rotation, changing layers/brush size/hardness)?
Will we ever get a public statement about this (e.g. “It’s in the works” or “Forget it”)?

I know this was hard work AND it was quite good work.
I know you can’t hear this anymore.

But honestly guys:
Pixelmator will NEVER be a Photoshop killer without non-destructive layer styles and adjustment layers.
I am waiting for YEARS now and periodically look at your website if these features are already implemented.
No again, they are not.

Thousands of potential customers are waiting just for that.
You can do dozens of further updates without layer styles – and at one time or another this gets too frustrating to wait for.

PixelmatorTeam, could you please tell me at least, if this feature-set is planned?
I am not asking for an exact date.

Great update. The smart shapes finally make vectors practically usable. I think it would be even better if we can alter shapes precisely with input fields. Like setting exact corner radius for a rounded rectangle.

Would love to ditch Photoshop due to the new subscription model. Unfortunately, until 16-bit image support (from start-to-end of the editing process) is implemented, Pixelmator is out of the running for me. That, and non-destructive workflow throughout.

I believe if you were to implement the above, you’d find a huge increase in sales!

Im very new to pixelmator or any other software thats out there, I did use photoshop when i was younger.
But decided to buy pixelmator instead. I must say I have no regrets at all.
I do have a question its probably very silly because I think the answer is really simple I just can’t find it.

So I am trying out one of the latest features text to shape, and when I type a word i convert it into shape and can do all the thinks you show in the “ad movie ” LOL

But when I want to add a second text layer I can not convert the text into shape. I tried adding a empty layer in between but it still does not work.

Hi! I downloaded the trial version pikselmatora, opened it, and he in Chinese or Japanese, I do not know what the characters tell me how to change the interface language to English, it is more than I know, tell me where to click on any character, or give a link where solve the same problem in youtube or somewhere else

Does this app include airbrush or something that will allow me to make my arms look skinnier in photos? I’m a beginner and am worried that this app is too advanced for me but I want the airbrush feature. Thanks!

[…] team member Ausra Meskauskaite. The download rate quadrupled — but then the company also just released version 2.2, which among other changes added vector-based illutration tools that compete with […]